Nick the Eraser: The Beast Within
by Theanimedude
Summary: Nick hasn't been himself since that one night. Will his change affect the flock- no, when will his change affect the flock?
1. Chapter 1

I'm working on Nick the Eraser, but this idea popped up and I wanted to use it. It's basically a spoof of another show with the flock, Nick, and Sara.

The Beast Within

I gasped as his foot made contact with my chest and sent me flying across the room. My back slammed into the wall opposite of where I'd been just seconds ago, and I clenched my teeth together to keep from screaming.

"Nick!" Max shouted while running towards me, the flock and Sara just behind her. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I responded with a half-fake grin. "But I think my spleen and appendix just switched places."

Ari cackled a few feet away. His newfound strength was incredible. Every time he came back from death, he was stronger. And he'd just kicked durable, mammoth-strength me across a 15 by 15 foot room with little effort.

He beckoned for us to attack, his smug but crazed face morphing sickeningly. The flock instantly took flight, but Sara stood by me. She held my hand, worry written obviously on her face. I smiled reassuringly, and she made her toughest face before turning to join the fight.

Gazzy was the first one out, Ari simply chopped his stomach and threw him into a wall, and he was down. Nudge fell next, Ari dodging her punch and squeezing her arm, making her scream. He then finished her by punching her in the head, causing her to land right next to Gazzy. Fang was next, his kicks practically bouncing off Ari and jarring Fang's legs. Ari swept his weakened legs out from under him before rolling him right next to the other two. Iggy, Max, Sara and Angel all tackled Ari at once, holding his limbs down, only to have all their heads banged together, dazing them out of fighting condition.

I ran at Ari, my fists at the ready, un-morphed. He just gave me a ball kick in the stomach before throwing me at the ceiling, creating a hole large enough for me to fit in. I fell out of said hole, and he clenched his hands together and swung them at me, effectively launching me into a wall, which crashed down on top of me.

"So weak!" Ari boasted. "Since when did you forget to fight like a man?"

"I'm NOT a man," I growled, before morphing and busting out of the rubble. **"I'm an animal!"**

I charged him, running him into a canister filled with a foreign liquid, causing it to explode. Its contents sprayed both of us, green ooze covering our fur. My clawed hands ripped into his chest, my fists propelled at his face. I was furious, suddenly, and my actions showed it. I was still attacking him after he was unconscious, and he slunk to the floor. When I decided I was finished, I backed off and demorphed.

"And stay down, you ugly little cur," I spat at him, before turning and walking towards the flock. Usually I would have checked on them, but I didn't feel like it.

"N-nice job," Max said, staring at me, awed.

"Dude, nice… intensity?" Gazzy said, searching for the right word.

"Have any good freak-outs lately?" Fang asked with a smirk. I glared at him icily, and his smile dropped instantly.

"I just got tired of being pushed around," I whispered, leaning in front of his face menacingly before turning and walking out of the school, not bothering to see if they'd followed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, the flock and I were hanging out in our nice little house, a hideout that the school hadn't found. Iggy was standing eagerly in front of a toaster- check that, fifteen toasters, and Max was sitting beside him at the counter. I walked in, and suddenly, all fifteen toasters ejected waffles. I saw them, grabbed a syrup bottle, and blasted all fifteen waffles before they could land. I then caught every one of the in my morphed mouth, before demorphing and smirking.

"Thanks for the grub," I said to Igg and Max, attacking my teeth with a toothpick.

"Ummm. Nick?" Max said, sounding skeptical and surprised. "Those were… waffles."

"A-yup," I said in response.

"But you hate waffles!" Iggy said, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," I said. "But somebody was cooking, and there was food available. Figured I'd call it." I looked up at a clock on the wall before saying "It's almost noon. You guys might want to grab breakfast."

I turned to walk away, as Iggy mumbled, "That **was** our breakfast." But I was already in the garage, using an overhead bar to do pull-ups. I began to tire Two hundred and ninety-five reps later, so I morphed and performed the last five effortlessly.

3-3-3-3-3

We had an original Playstation set up, and were playing a racing game, Gazzy and I. Our cars were neck-and-neck, approaching the finish line, when he used a turbo to ram into me and knock me off the side of the track, causing my car to explode.

"Hey!" I shouted angrily. "You can't do that!"

"I can, I did, and that's why I'm gonna win," Gazzy chanted in a sing-songy voice. I growled at him before morphing my hand into an eraser claw and slashing at his shirt, right next to his heart. Three jagged rips formed on his shirt, but I didn't break the slightest bit of skin. His eyes widened, and I turned to storm to the garage.

"It was just a stupid game!" Gazzy called after me.

I began pumping our five-hundred pound barbell at a mile a minute. When I began to tire, four hundred and ninety-five reps later, I morphed into an eraser and threw the barbell through a wall. I smirked before turning and bounding up the stairs.

3-3-3-3-3

Later, I was sitting in front of the television, flipping through channels. Nothing good was on. Stupid TV network people… Nudge walked in with a TV guide in her hand.

"Nick!" she shouted with annoying enthusiasm. "My favorite soap opera is going to be on soon! Can we watch it?" Soap operas, ew…

"No," I said, still flipping through channels.

"B-but you're just flipping!" Nudge said, sounding very upset.

"I said NO, Nudge!" I shouted at her. "Go be a nuisance somewhere else!" She glared at me, and then turned to stomp off overdramatically to her room, dropping the TV guide along the way. I picked it up and looked at it to see that her show was coming on in five minutes, and then ran a marathon the rest of the day. Nothing else good was coming on for the rest of the day. I growled before standing up, remote in hand, and walking to Nudge's room.

"Here!" I shouted, throwing the remote through the open doorway. "Watch your weird teary show!" She watched me, wide-eyed with surprise as I turned and went to the garage. I needed to work out some anger.

I got to work, punching the crap out of our hanging punching bag. It fell down after a few simple jabs, and I angrily morphed and tore it to shreds with my teeth.

3-3-3-3-3

Later that night, I walked down a hallway towards my room, hardly noticing Fang before we walked into each other- no, he walked into me.

"Sorry," he muttered, turning and walking down the hallway.

"You'd better be," I growled at him, turning to face his retreating form. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" He turned to face me, his face hardening.

"On second thought," he said coolly. "I'm not sorry. And you're being a- jerk." He seemed to catch himself, as though he knew someone else was watching and didn't want to swear.

I glared at him, and he turned to keep walking, but I was standing in his path before he knew it. He looked at me, our heights even, and tried to walk around me, but I sidestepped to block his path.

"I'm a jerk, huh?" I asked evenly, not letting anger show in my voice. "Well, I think it's about time we switched roles. You're always glaring at me, you never laugh at any of my puns- which, okay, aren't all funny, but still- and you always flat-out have an attitude with me. I've put up with it for a little while; I've been a real nice guy. But I'm done with that now. As of last night, mister nice guy has left the building."

Fang stared into my eyes coldly. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to be intimidated?" he asked nonchalantly.

**That did it.**

"No," I responded calmly, before morphing into an eraser. "This is!" He looked at me, his eyes showing surprise, before putting his fists up in a fighting stance.

"Leave him alone!" somebody shouted. My head snapped to the left to look past Fang, and Max was standing there, her hands on her hips. Gazzy and Nudge were standing behind her.

"What's wrong with you, man?" The Gasman asked me with anger in his eyes.

"You're acting like Ari or something!" Nudge shouted at me.

I spared a passing glare at Fang, before storming past him and up to Max. She stood her ground, glaring at me with a ferocity I'd never seen from her before.

"Look!" I shouted in her face, startling her. "This is who I am. I'm not just some obedient puppy anymore. I'm not going to take everything in stride. I'm not going to let you guys get away with messing with me anymore. You'd better toe the line from now on. Don't like it, tough!"

"Fine," Max said, glaring at me. "Then take it elsewhere. We don't want it."

I breathed heavily, before raising a clawed hand, and their eyes widened as my hand flew out and stopped right in front of Max's face, making her flinch. I smirked.

"And you have perfect reason to be afraid of me, Max," I whispered gravely before demorphing. I walked past them, bumping Max's shoulder as I went.

3-3-3-3-3

"Always being a jerk!" I shouted, punching a hole in my wall. "Always loved more than me!" I continued, kicking my bed post open. "And when I stand up for myself, everybody's on HIS side!" I yelled, slashing my claws through my mattress and blankets, leaving jagged tears in it.

"Do I even matter to anybody here?" I asked myself, sitting down on my ripped mattress and putting my head in my hands. I felt tears well up on my face, and I laid down on my side facing the wall.

"No," I decided. Nobody does. Gazzy blew up my car, Nudge wanted to steal the tv, and Max and Iggy wanted **my** food. And then nobody takes my side when its obviously Fang's fault!" I shuddered, and my eyes went red with anger. Just then the door opened.

"Nick, I can hear you screaming all the way upstair-"

"**GET OUT, MAX!" **I shouted forcefully, standing up and turning to face her as I morphed. She stood still, stunned.

"Nick," she whispered calmly. "Sit back down, and tell me what's wrong."

"No!" I fired at her with electricity, which she dodged nimbly, causing my walls paint to fall. "Nobody can tell me what to do! Especially not people who don't give a crap about me!"

"Nick, that's not true," she said, still annoyingly calm. "We all care about you. We need to know what's wrong so we can help you."

"Is that why you told me to leave?" I asked furiously. "Is that why when it's obviously Fang's fault, you blame me? Is that why Gazzy blew up my car? Is that why Nudge stole the TV? Huh? If you cared about me, you all wouldn't treat me like this!"

"Nick, you aren't acting like yourself!" Max said firmly. "You need to calm down. You were the instigator in all of those situations."

"It. Wasn't. MY. **FAULT!**" I shouted, accenting my words with a punch towards her. She dodged nimbly, and shook her head.

"Get some sleep, Nick. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning." She said, quietly walking out and shutting the door behind her.

"Nobody gets it," I whispered. "They all blame me. They all tell me what to do. None of the care about me."

"But from now on," I whispered, fresh anger bubbling up inside me. "Nobody tells Nick Tundra what to do. ** NOBODY!**"

Suddenly I heard my own heartbeat. Its pace became irregular, and pain shot from my toes to my head. I fell on the floor, my arms and legs twitching. Something really bad was happening to me. And for the first time since yesterday, I was afraid.


	3. Chapter 3

"Nick's gone insane!" Nudge said from the couch, talking to Fang, Iggy, Sara, and Gazzy. "Are you hearing him screaming?"

"Yeah," Gazzy said, glaring at his shirt. "We didn't do anything bad to him."

"He's probably just a late bloomer for puberty," Iggy joked from his chair. "Remember when Fang went through it-"

"Don't start," Fang said menacingly.

"-and all he would eat was hot dogs, and he'd only wear that weird black coat to cover his face so we couldn't see the zits!" Iggy finished, chuckling to himself. A dartboard flew by his head, and stuck itself to the metal chair by magnetism. It was littered with darts forming a skull and crossbones. Iggy shut up immediately as Max walked into the room, rubbing her temples.

"He thinks everything is our fault," she muttered. "That none of us care about him enough for him to matter. That we're all out to get him."

"Of course we aren't," Fang said, hugging Max around her shoulders with one arm. "Did you tell him that?"

"Of course," Max said quietly. "But he refuses to accept that everything that happened today was his fault.

"He cares about us, and he thinks we don't care about him," Max whispered. "And he feels hurt. That's why he's been acting like this."

Everybody was silent, taking this in.

"But we've done nothing to make him feel like that," Gazzy said quietly.

"He's just overreacting to little things," Fang said. "He took it as an act of hate when you were playing video games with him."

Gazzy looked up at Fang nodding.

"Nudge," Fang said. "He thought you were implying he wasn't good enough for the TV and he should just give it to you when you asked to watch your show."

Nudge gasped in understanding.

"Max, Iggy," Fang continued. "He thought you weren't making breakfast for yourself, but just making breakfast. So when you said it was yours, he thought that you thought he shouldn't eat food you prepared."

Max and Iggy nodded.

"And when we ran into each other in the hall," Fang finished. "He thought I thought he didn't matter enough for me to walk past him, and that I just ran into him head-on to show distaste."

Sara had been silent, watching and understanding.

"But," she whispered as all heads turned to her. "He doesn't usually act like that. Something must have happened- something big- for him to feel like this."

Everybody thought about this, knowing it was true. But not knowing what it could possibly be that made him act like this. Just then, an ear-splitting howl ran throughout the house, and a girlish scream reverberated off the walls along with it.

"Angel!" everybody said simultaneously. They ran in the direction of the scream, which of course, was Nick's room. The door had been blasted off its hinges, scars shaped like lightning bolts clawed into it.

They ran inside and gasped. The room looked like it'd been I a blender set to **"CUT INTO TINY FREAKING MOLECULES." **Scars layered the room, the bed was torn, and the bed frame was split open. There was nobody there- not a soul. They ran for the window, which had been shattered, and saw footprints. Huge, wolf-like footprints, much larger than even Nick's when he morphed. And Nick and Angel were gone.

3-3-3-3-3

"Alright, flock," Max said into her six-way walkie-talkie. "We have two flock members missing and no explanation. Fan out and search for Nick and Angel!" And then to herself- "I swear, whoever did this to my baby is going to be killed, brought back to life and killed again by me. The culprit is going to burn."

The remains of the flock all scattered, looking for any signs of life above the forest in which their temporary home was located. Rabbits and foxes were regular species, so they were everywhere. But ten foot tall white wolves were not.

"I found something," "Fang said over his walkie-talkie. "Something that's headed towards the city."

"On our way to intercept," Max reported, and the flock flew towards the city on the outskirts of the forest. Upon reaching there, they touched down, Fang last to arrive.

"I lost him when he hit the trees," Fang said, sounding frustrated. Just then, they heard a clambering sound coming from a sewer a few feet away.

"It's in there!" Nudge said unnecessarily. Everyone jumped down the manhole, tracking the sound of skittering claws and heavy breathing. Eventually, the sounds remained in one place, though it was now pitch-black. Max drew a flashlight and shined it in the direction of the sound- and gasped.

"ZOMG", Nudge whispered.

"You can say that again," Gazzy whispered. The creature stood before them ten feet tall, white furred, and all and all werewolf-like. Its hands looked like huge gorilla mitts, its feet bare and gray, possessing only three toes each. Its face was like that of an oversized tundra wolf.

But what chilled them to the bone was that the creature had something dangling from its mouth. It was the hood of a jacket- which was being worn by (whoever wasn't expecting this probably doesn't watch enough TV) Angel, out cold.

The creature lowered its head and deposited the girl in front of it before growling menacingly at the flock and charging towards them. The flock scattered, flying around the creature to attack from behind, all but Sara, who stayed at the front readying herself for a frontal assault. She waited until the beast was upon her before she leapt upward, giving it an uppercut right in the chin, causing its head to snap backwards.

Fang flew behind the creature kicking the top of its head expertly. It fell forward, only to be met by Max's waiting fist, which snapped upward into its snout. It righted itself, howling with fury, and kicked Max into a wall effortlessly. It grabbed Sara with its mountainous arms and threw the girl into Fang, making them both fall to the ground in a painful heap.

Nudge was the next to attack, leaping towards the creature, punching at its stomach, making it flinch. It tolerated this for about five seconds before grabbing her by the leg and flinging her into a wall next to Max.

"Fire in the hole!" Iggy and Gazzy shouted simultaneously before dropping a deadly barrage of homemade bombs on the creature. It howled with pain, and the rest of the flock ran to it. When the smoke cleared, they were extremely surprised.

In place of the heart-stopping beast they had just defeated, Nick lay there on the cold metal floor, his shirt and pants legs shredded. He sat up, his eyelids fluttering open, and looked into Max's amazed eyes.

"Where am I?" he mumbled, looking at his charred clothing and his surroundings dubiously. He seemed to notice the looks being given to him for the first time.

"Whyz evreebody lookin' at me like dat?" he asked, before spitting out a tooth. Nick had been the creature that'd attacked Angel. Nick was the culprit. 


	4. Chapter 4

I sat on a chair in the living room, disbelieving. Angel was lying on the couch, out cold, looking like she'd been through a train wreck. Guess who got blamed? You got it- me.

"How could this happen?" I asked, putting my head in my hands. "You're telling me I did that to her? That's… That's impossible."

"We found you with her," Fang said from his chair, his gaze piercing, like he was burning holes into my eyes.

"No," I whispered. "I wouldn't! I mean, I was mad, but I would never-"

"She was in your teeth," Nudge said, standing up and glaring at me. "I don't think it could have been anybody else."

"That's a lie!" I shouted, my eyes going bloodshot. Max stood up from her seat on the couch, stroking Angel's hair, and then turned to me.

"I'm going to have to ask you to keep your voice down," she said quietly, but the anger burning from her chocolate eyes was like a duo of knives, trying to stab into me. I clenched my hands tighter on the arms of the chair, my nails lengthening, before I froze. What was I doing? I cared so much about everybody here. I didn't get this angry, ever. I looked down at my paw, demorphing it and trembling.

"What's happening to me?" I whispered, dropping my head into my hands.

"Something happened recently," Max said, walking over to my chair. "Something big that made you mad at us. We're guessing it mixed with that chemical that went into you from Ari- either that, or you just WANTED to kill someone, and Angel was nearby."

"Angel," I whispered, lifting my head. "She's gonna be alright, right? I mean… she's not moving…"

"You need to either tell us what made you so mad at us or tell us what happened," Fang said, walking next to Max up to me.

"Nothing's made me mad, I just… I haven't felt right," I whispered, staring at the floor. "And I don't remember what happened. I finished talking with you, I threatened you, I went to my room, I was angry… then nothing. Claws, this huge pain, a scream… nothing."

"Claws, a huge pain and a scream isn't nothing," Max said sharply, leaning down towards my face. "What else?"

"That's all," I said honestly, trying to focus on the events of earlier tonight. "I don't remember anything else."

"You need to focus, Nick," Max said, her voice rising.

"I **am**," I said, shaking.

"You have to remember," Max said, her voice continuing to rise.

"I'm trying!" I said, growing agitated and fearful.

"Try harder!" Max shouted, startling me and making me look up. "If you can't remember anything, I'm going to have to assume the worst, and if that happens, I will rip you apart with my bare hands, Nick Tundra! Now you'd better try and remember!"

"**I CAN'T!" **I shouted, my vision becoming hazy red. I groaned as I felt myself morph against my will, my body suddenly being hit with a spike of pain. I was afraid. I was losing control again. Max and Fang backed away, fear evident on their faces. I opened my eyes, staring into hers, pleading for help.

"Get away," I muttered. "Get away!" The last thing I remember before I blacked out was Max rushing towards me.

3-3-3-3-3

Nick batted Max away with one mountainous arm, growling ferociously. His ocean blue eyes shined a demonic yellow, and his body began to grow, icy white fur sprouting all over him. His pained face morphed into that of an oversized tundra wolf, and he howled.

"Nick!" Nudge shouted, backing away. "What's…?"

He roared with agony and fury, his wild eyes darting across the room. His eyes rested on an unconscious Angel, and they softened shortly before he ran towards her. Fang darted in front of him, holding him back with both arms grabbing his.

Max and Iggy ran up behind them, only to be hit with a flying Fang thrown by Nick. He growled, rushing to Angel's side, kneeling down beside her and opening his fanged mouth.

"Bring him down!" Max shouted, and Nudge was immediately up and soaring towards him. He back flipped as she was upon him, and then landed with a crushing stomp on her back. Gazzy flew up behind his head, launching a series of punches and kicks, all of which missed, before Nick promptly head butted him, knocking him to the floor. Max angrily tore a broomstick from a wall bringing it towards him, only to have it grabbed by him and splintered.

"Leave her alone!" Fang shouted, jumping to Max's side. The two began kicking at the beast, causing it to back into a wall, before bringing both of each of their fists into its gut, causing it to fly through the wall.

"Sleep tight, traitor," Iggy growled, before hurling a bomb towards him on the outside of the house. The creature had smartened up, however, and it sidestepped past the bomb, before getting all three of the eldest flock in one roundhouse kick. They fell to the ground, moaning, while Nick ran back to Angel, only to be blocked by Gazzy.

"Mitts off my sister, mutt!" he shouted, throwing himself against him in order to send him flying out through the hole in the wall. Nick growled at the house, before retreating back towards the city.

Max, Iggy, Fang and Gazzy were out the hole quickly, and Nudge approached from behind, only to be stopped by Max's outstretched arm.

"Stay here and guard Angel in case he comes back," Max ordered, and Nudge nodded, running back to Angel's side.

"I'm sorry Nick," Max whispered. "But You aren't going to get away with this. You're to much of a threat to let live." With that, the foursome flew out into the night.


	5. Chapter 5

This is the last chapter, I better get some reviews.

The creature that was Nick Tundra streaked on all fours, barreling through the forest towards the city, with the fearsome foursome of the flock close behind. While the flock was catching up to the creature they intended to annihilate, though they didn't know it, they were being followed.

Max heard something approaching behind them, and upon sending the three others ahead in different directions, continued flying on her path. In a couple mere moments she turned around sharply, assuming ambush counter maneuvers. She struck her attacker, and was blocked accordingly.

"Cut it out!" Sara said, her pale and colorless eyes in her girlish, six-year-old face showing annoyance. "It's just me!"

"Sara," Max breathed with relief. "You should have said something. Where have you been?"

"Flying around, 'fraid of coming home," she said simply. "I'm afraid of my big brother ... but I think he's probably gone now. Just that beast is left." Max nodded sadly. Sara was very young, and yet she never missed the facts. Even though the man who'd saved her from bleeding to death out in an empty road was the one who was going to die, and she knew it, she didn't shed a single tear.

As she'd once said, "When life hits you hard, you just roll with the punches and it goes on. Nothing can change facts, no matter how cruel they may seem to an individual." The poor girl had already accepted that her adopted sibling was going to die very soon. Was her heart broken? Probably. But that didn't change the fact that life was continuing. So, if the chance presented itself, she'd roll with the punches and deal the final blow herself. Sara was a very intelligent girl for her age, and her speeches made her seem years older than she was.

Max hugged the young girl to her chest, holding her until she received one back.

"I still wish it were different," Max said quietly.

"Nothing can change facts, Max," Sara said, tears brimming in her eyes even as she looked up calmly into Max's face. "You know that."

3-3-3-3-3

"There!" The Gasman shouted, holding Iggy's hand and guiding him down to the ground, right in Nick's path. The ferocious mutation snarled at them, baring its crude, freshly brushed fangs. The pyrotechnicians of the flock each drew a homemade bomb, readying themselves for their adversary's coming attack.

"I know you're in there, Nick," Iggy said, stepping closer to the monstrosity. "Don't make me do this."

The creature glared at the blind, pale-skinned boy before his face softened slightly and his eyes switched from a bloodthirsty yellow to their natural sapphire blue.

"Ig..." the creature growled softly, and Iggy lowered his armed hands to his sides.

Just then, Fang flew in, his wings as black as the night, kicking the creature square in the head. It roared fiercely, it's eyes reverting to their previous shade, as it retreated towards a manhole.

"Give me those!" Fang shouted at a dumbstruck Iggy, grabbing the bombs in his hands and pursuing the creature.

"Sorry Nick," he whispered before throwing the deadly weapons at the creature. Its howl of pain could be heard for miles.

3-3-3-3-3

It's howl of pain was, in fact, heard back at the flock's house. Angel snapped upright on the couch and Nudge turned with alarm.

"Nick!" Angel shouted, her eyes scanning for her old Eraser friend.

"It's okay Angel," Nudge reassured her. "He can't hurt you anymore."

"He didn't hurt me," Angel whispered. "He-he **SAVED **me."

"From who?" Nudge asked bewilderedly.

3-3-3-3-3

Despite the attack, the creature reached the manhole, diving into it quickly, too fast for the flock to follow before it disappeared. Fang growled low in his throat as Max and Sara quickly joined them.

"What happened?" Max asked, noting the remains of what had used to be street.

"We had him, but he escaped into the sewers again," Gazzy said, frustratedly stomping his foot.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Sara snapped, leaping down into the manhole. The remaining flock members watched her with surprise.

"She just really wants to get this over with," Max said, shaking her head. "And so do I. Let's go."

The flock followed the sound of skittering claws and heavy breathing once more, shining a flashlight in their chase. The creature didn't take long to find, and it shielded it's eyes from the flashlight's beam.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Nick," Max said hopefully. "Just stop."

Nick growled fiercely in their direction before charging towards them.

"You asked for-" Max was cut short when something huge struck her back, and the flashlight dropped from her hand and flicked off as she tumbled.

"The heck?" Max groaned as she stood up, shakily lifting the flashlight and turning it on. She aimed it and gasped as she saw that the creature that had once been her friend was now squaring off against a creature much like it, however its fur was a rusty brown.

"There are two?" Gazzy asked amazedly. "Aww, nooo..."

3-3-3-3-3

The creature in front of me lashed out with its clawed mitt, sending my new, clunky form through a wall. It chased me through it before grabbing me by the throat and pushing me into a wall. I gasped animalistically for air, and the creature slugged me in the face hard enough to send me through this new wall. I landed in a heap in on the ground, and the creature roared as it lunged towards me.

I jumped up and out of the way just in time, and then leapt towards the creature that was threatening me and my friends. It dodged me, before leaning in close to my face and grinning. Was this thing mocking me? Oh, I'd had it. I took a wild punch at its face, only for it to bite down on my arm. It threw me upwards **WITH ITS TEETH **into a wall, about fifty feet up. I fell from the wall, landing on my stomach, the air rushing out of me.

Even in my new, beastlike form, I didn't stand a chance! I struggled to stand up, growling softly, but the creature clamped its hands together and gave me a two-handed punch through the floor. The creature followed me through the crater my body had left and landed square on top of me. I felt my ribs crack and howled painfully.

The creature then began assaulting me with its hands, punching and slapping scratching me until I could no longer move. The creature smirked down at me, when suddenly-BANG!-the members of the flock that had recently attacked landed a few feet away with Sara and Max.

The creature turned and glared at them, stalking towards them predatorily. I forced by beaten body to stand, and spread my twenty-foot wings wide. I flew at the creature full speed, slashing at it with my hooked talons. It howled with pain, and I came back around for another strike. The creature was stronger than me, but it never took into consideration my flight speed. I moved like lightning, viciously punching, kicking, scratching, and tackling the creature. It was wearing down quickly now, but I knew I needed to deal the finishing blow. I raised my clawed hands, and then plunged them into the creature's body.

It froze with pain and terror as I discharged every little bit of electricity I'd charged in my body, effectively and immediately wiping it out. It fell from my hands, its fur charred and smoking, and landed on the floor, unconscious.

I felt myself demorph out of this beastlike form I'd obtained and fell to the ground.

3-3-3-3-3

"Holy crap," Max breathed as she watched Nick fall. "Nick!" The other creature, lying on the ground a few feet away, demorphed as well. The flock gasped as they recognized the figure of the newer beast.

"Ari," Sara whispered, placing her hand over her heart.

As the flock walked towards the two of them, green ooze slithered out of their bodies.

"It's the same chemicals that were at the school," Fang said with recognition. "That's why this has all been happening. Nick was mutated against his will, and he became that thing whenever he got too angry."

"He wasn't mad at us at all," Gazzy whispered. "He's just not been himself. Literally."

Fang and Max lifted Nick onto their shoulders as he lost consciousness, his eyes uncomprehending and dull.

"Let's go home," Max said, as the flock climbed up through an open manhole.

3-3-3-3-3

I sat in front of a pond, skipping stones across the black water that reflected the sky. I felt unbelievably guilty for what I'd done. Everything. Even though we'd found out that Ari had been the one to attack Angel and not me, I'd still been really rude to the flock.

"Hey," Max said, walking up behind me, sitting next to me on the bank.

"So," I said quietly, staring at the water. "It was Ari who hurt Angel, right? Not me?"

"He broke into the house to attack you through your window," Max told me. "He ended up attacking Angel too, the dirt bag."

"Ugh," I grumbled with a grimace. "I can't believe I ate waffles."

Max raised an eyebrow and smiled at me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get over the deep trauma soon enough," she said jokingly. I didn't smile though.

"I acted like a jerk," I whispered. "I'm sorry." Max stared at me before sighing. She didn't like talking about feelings.

"You weren't yourself," she responded evenly.

"Those chemicals at the school," I murmured. "They messed with my DNA and released something primal. That beast came from inside of me. And it's still there. I can feel it."

"Good," Max said, surprising me. "If it wasn't for that beast, Angel might be dead right now. Having that beast inside you doesn't make you an animal. Knowing when to let it out-" she smiled warmly, reaching over and placing her hand back on my shoulder. "-that's what makes you a man."

I turned my head back to her, smiling. She wrapped me in a hug, which I willingly returned.

"You gonna come eat waffles with us?" Max asked me, an evil glint in her eye. I laughed, nodding.

"I'd be a real beast if I didn't," I replied.


End file.
